Illustration
The challenge was trying to create illustrations that would capture the essence of the story. I wanted to have a cohesive look and feel to the illustrations which is why i built them all around the same theme and structure.
I wanted hands to build the focus in each drawing, because I feel that hands tell us a lot about a person and capture individual stories very well.
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dream 1
It wasn’t exactly bright in my room. The light was dimmed by hazy beams of smoke, and the air was stifling. I lay still in my bed, my eyes fixed on the ceiling. Everything was quiet; I could even hear the sound of my own heartbeat. But slowly, almost imperceptibly, I began to hear breathing. Breathing that wasn’t mine.
The walls seemed to move along with this foreign noise. Were the walls breathing?
My hand reached out to touch the cold surface beside me. It was damp. I sat up and looked around my room. From my loft bed, my gaze drifted to the little wooden staircase connecting my upper level to the floor below. Even the staircase looked damp, the wood reflecting the sparse light in my cramped space. It looked slippery.
My hand reached out to touch the cold surface beside me. It was damp. I sat up and looked around my room. From my loft bed, my gaze drifted to the little wooden staircase connecting my upper level to the floor below. Even the staircase looked damp, the wood reflecting the sparse light in my cramped space. It looked slippery.
The breathing grew louder, and a restless feeling started to take hold of me. I suddenly felt trapped, an overwhelming panic rising within. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something shifting on the walls of the room. Turning my head, I tried to make out what I had just seen. Mold. Mold was beginning to grow from the walls. Countless tiny spores soon covered the ceiling, the floor, and the breathing walls. I could already see patches of mold on my staircase.
In that moment of discomfort, though, I couldn’t help but notice an almost eerie beauty to the spores. The walls looked as if they had been draped in velvet, as though they were alive.
From between the steps, amid the mold, small mushrooms began to sprout. Tiny, harmless-looking mushrooms that captivated me. I watched them grow slowly, spreading rapidly.
In clusters, and sometimes alone, they multiplied across my wooden staircase.
From between the steps, amid the mold, small mushrooms began to sprout. Tiny, harmless-looking mushrooms that captivated me. I watched them grow slowly, spreading rapidly.
In clusters, and sometimes alone, they multiplied across my wooden staircase.
Now I sat on the first step, my bare feet pressing against the mold-covered stairs.
The smoke in the room remained thick, making it harder to breathe. My hand, the one that had touched the wall earlier, started to feel as though ants were crawling across my skin. I looked at my palm and saw mold beginning to grow there as well.
The smoke in the room remained thick, making it harder to breathe. My hand, the one that had touched the wall earlier, started to feel as though ants were crawling across my skin. I looked at my palm and saw mold beginning to grow there as well.
Panicking, I tried to wipe it off, rubbing my skin with my other hand. But all that did was spread it. Now my second hand started tingling, too. The fluffy growth covered most of my fingers and the back of my hand. The tingling in the other hand intensified as the first spores appeared there as well.
Fear consumed me. Frantically, I kept trying to scrape off the fungal growth, but everything I touched became infected, the mold spreading until it blanketed my entire body. In the end, I was completely encased in the soft, downy growth, absorbed into my room and becoming one with it.
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dream 2
The sea thundered around us. Water was everywhere. Towering waves surrounded the ship we were on, and in the distance, you could faintly hear people screaming. We could barely stay upright as the waves shook the boat violently. It was the middle of the night, and the sky was heavily overcast. The stars were nowhere to be seen; the cloud cover was far too thick. The next wave approached the ship—it was taller than any we had seen before. I grabbed the other two by the hands and dragged them out of the glass hall. The wave would strike us and flood the hall. We had to get out of there as quickly as possible, or we would drown. The wave was not far off. A massive, blue monstrosity loomed beside the ship, ready to engulf it.
Using our belts, we tied ourselves to the railing near the glass hall, and shortly after, we were engulfed by the wave. Suddenly, everything became quiet and muffled. We were enveloped by the sea. Clinging to the railing as tightly as I could, I felt time under the water stretch into what felt like hours, with the pull of the current sapping my strength. When we finally resurfaced and could breathe again, the sounds around us returned as well. There were fewer, but louder screams now. Soaking wet and exhausted, we stood outside and saw how the glass hall was still filled with water, bodies pressed against the windows. It was horrifying. The water was murky, filled with countless objects floating within it. Wounded people, struck by the debris, were everywhere.
On the horizon, the next wave was already visible, towering like multiple buildings stacked on top of each other. The sight was terrifying, and I knew we had to brace ourselves for an even stronger impact this time. We looked each other in the eyes, and I could read their fear. Trembling and soaked, we prepared for the next dive. I reached out with my right hand and grabbed hers, holding her wrist tightly. My grip was firm, and my skin turned completely white beneath her fingers. Even my nails nearly dug into her skin. Don’t let go. Then, another hand reached for me from the left, searching for mine. The three of us formed a chain, knowing that we could only survive this together.
And then it came. The wave shook the boat violently, and for a moment, I almost let go of the others out of shock and reflex. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and suddenly, everything went silent again.
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DREAM 3
My neck grew hot, and pain spread through me. I fell to the ground, and suddenly my body turned ice-cold. Paralyzed, I lay on the dry grass as my field of vision shrank, growing darker and darker. Everything blurred slowly, but I remained conscious. People around me ran in every direction, screaming. Total chaos had broken out. Slowly, I regained the ability to move, and with my hand, I reached for my neck. My fingers were covered in blood, and it hit me like a lightning bolt—I had been shot.
With the last of my strength, I had to drag myself to my hideout: the old, abandoned prison. Many women lived there, sheltered from the dangers lurking outside. But soon, I knew I would have to leave this place, too; it was no longer safe, not since everyone had "gone mad."
A lot of time passed, and I was constantly searching for a new place to sleep and for my friend, whom I had lost sight of months ago. I didn’t even know if he was still alive. I could only hope. The gunshot wound healed poorly. The environment was filthy, and I couldn’t rest—I was always on the run. My body had been gravely damaged since that day, and I knew I wouldn’t last much longer on my own. I desperately needed the support and presence of another person who hadn’t succumbed to the madness.
Days and nights passed. My will to live grew weaker, and my hope was on the brink of extinguishing when, all of a sudden, a familiar and so deeply beloved voice spoke my name behind me.
I turned around and looked into tired, soulful eyes—the most beautiful thing I had seen in a long time. It was him. I collapsed into his arms, unable to hold back my emotions. Relief and the weight of the past months crashed over me.
I turned around and looked into tired, soulful eyes—the most beautiful thing I had seen in a long time. It was him. I collapsed into his arms, unable to hold back my emotions. Relief and the weight of the past months crashed over me.
We found an old ruin, overgrown with steel beams, that looked as though the construction had never been finished. He helped me climb to one of the upper floors, as sleeping at ground level was far too dangerous. Up here, no one could see or reach us quickly. There were no stairs. We set up our sleeping spaces and lay down. This could become our new home.